Stoic Hearts
by Kousagi7Yami
Summary: Another installment of my Hearts series. Hong Kong and Iceland get their turn! And one of them is being difficult.


**That's right, TWO in a week! Because I love you all and feel kinda bad ^^; IMPORTANT NOTE: if you have questions about this AU or want to recommend pairings, look at my profile first, then you can PM me please~ Now, enjoy!**

"When your piece falls out, I want it." These were the first words spoken by the exchange student from Hong Kong to Emil, otherwise known as Ice.

This new student, Li from Hong Kong, was in his grade, with dark hair and thick eyebrows that reminded him of the English student a few grades ahead of him. "Why?" He asked coolly.

"Like, because I want it." He shrugged and sat down next to him.

Ice was uncomfortable with him from that moment on.

Ice had a maroon heart, which he was fine with. It was his favorite color after all. Many people considered Ice kind of peculiar. He wore gloves at all times, nice dress gloves that did nothing to protect from cold. He simply claimed they made him look sophisticated.

Ice got his nick-name from two separate places. First: he had an abnormally low body temperature, so he got sick easily, but he was also from Iceland. His brother was from Norway; therefore they were not related by blood. But every time they saw each other…

"Call me Dear Brother"

"No."

"Call me Dear Brother"

"No."

"Call me Dear Brother"

"I will shove this licorice up your nose."

This was a usual occurrence around lunchtime when the two met for a long period of time. Recently though, the conversation would end when Den decided to kiss Norge to shut him up, only to receive a light slap upside the head, but it worked well enough. "So!" The Dane said, grinning, "Manage to shake that Asian kid yet?" He teased the boy.

Ice's eyes narrowed "No." He replied coldly.

Li had been trailing him occasionally between classes, every so often, asking him "How do you feel?" Just to keep him from asking repeatedly, Ice would tell him and he would leave him alone… until the next time. Ice would change routes every so often to try and lose him, but he would always find him. ALWAYS.

He was just lucky he hadn't come to his house yet Ice supposed…

"How do you feel?" Ice sighed and looked up. Sure enough, Li was behind him, orange heart glinting, minding his personal space of course. That was one thing he had to commend him for.

Ice sighed "Fine." He said, as always.

And, as always, Li nodded, smiled and walked away.

Ice sighed "I just don't understand it…" he said, standing "And I can't tell him off, he just keeps coming back…"

Norge looked up at him "It's about to get worse." He said, his face as stoic as always.

"What do you mean?" Ice asked, glaring at his brother.

However, the blonde just smiled knowingly and began to passionately make out with Den.

Ice fled the scene in disgust.

It was in the next class that Ice understood all too well. It was History 1, wherein he had Li in class with him. "We'll be starting on our projects today." The teacher said "I have assigned you each a partner and topic." She picked up the clip board "There will be no trading or changing." She began to read it off.

"Lovino and Alice"

"Matthew and Arthur"

"Sadiq and Gupta"

"Emil and Li"

Oh… That was what Norge meant… Ice paled further once the teacher informed them that they would have to work on it outside of class. Luckily, they had been assigned "the history of Iceland and Vikings" which was a topic Ice was very familiar with. He may have been able to do it by himself! Once class was over, Li approached him. "I have time after school tomorrow, may I come over?"

Ice was prepared for this question. "We can't, our house is being fumigated. Cockroaches." He said, his face as stoic as usual.

But Li frowned. "That's a shame… I would like to come over when it's done. When will it be completed?"

"Two weeks." Ice replied too quickly.

"Good, the project is due in three; we can put it together at your house once it's done." And with that, he left the room.

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ice lay in his bed, his favorite plush puffin in his arms. He stared at the ceiling at a picture of Jonsi, his favorite musician. He had managed to avoid having Li over for now… but to avoid further contact was impossible. "I'm coming in."

Ice sat up as Norge entered the room. "Don't you knock?" He demanded, irritated.

"I did. You didn't say anything, so I thought you died." Norge, or rather, Lucas shrugged.

Lucas had been a bit mellower since exchanging hearts with Mathayas. They had decided to drop their nick-names, but Ice clung to his still. He didn't like change…

"Why are you trying to avoid him so much?" Lucas asked calmly, playing with one of his pillows.

Ice shrugged "He annoys me."

"Why?"

"He just does." He replied stubbornly.

"Why?"

He glared at him "Why does he want to know how I'm feeling all the time?"

Lucas stared at him. "Because he wants to be friends with you."

Ice scoffed. "That's a weird way to go about it." He said

Lucas leveled him with a stare. "Shall I tell you why?" Ice nodded "He spoke to me the first day he came to our school. He's very intelligent." He pulled the pillow into his lap. "He found out your name and found out I was your brother."

"No you're not."

"Now's not the time." He went on. "He asked me why you were frowning. I told him that that was your usual face, so he vowed to find out about what subtle nuances of your face meant what."

Ice stared at him for a long time. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, when you lift your eyebrow slightly, he wants to know what that means. He wants to be your friend, Ice." He stood up "I'm making lopepesa*. Do you want any?"

The younger one stuck his tongue out. "Bleh."

"You can't survive on a diet of licorice, Ice."

"Watch me."

"I love you bror.

"Love you too…"

And with that, Lucas left the room. Ice leaned back and plugged his headphones in, turning up the soul-healing music of Jonsi and Sigur Ros**.

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next couple of weeks passed quickly. Ice would answer whenever Li would inquire about his feelings and the two would get together after school at Li's place to work on their project. For some reason, it always smelled of gunpowder which worried Ice. Finally, it was a couple days before the project was due. They had to make a poster for it and Li insisted they do it at Ice's house. "I will be over at four." He said simply, packing up his things and going home after class.

Once home, Ice began plotting his escape route. Getting out of the house was the hardest part… once out, he would just duck into the woods in the backyard. "How's the whole "Making friends with Li" going?" Lucas asked casually as he stowed an escape ladder under the sink.

Ice looked up at him "Fine. Now go away."

"You won't even try?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Nope."

Lucas went quiet for a moment, and then began to speak again. "I haven't been entirely truthful with you Ice." He started.

The fair-haired boy looked at him "What do you mean?"

Lucas carded his fingers through his hair "Li didn't tell me he wanted to be friends with you…" But at this, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Lucas offered, turning to go "Put that thing back."

Once he was out of sight, Ice opened the window and rolled the ladder out the window.

"Is Ice here?"

"Ja, he's in the bathroom."

Ice practically dove out the window, scrambling to crawl down the ladder. The moment his foot hit grass, he raced towards the woods, across the yard. Once he hit trees, he smiled. Free at last~… Then why did he hear footsteps? He turned, only to see Li tearing towards him. Ice's eyes went wide and he took off again, running faster than he ever had in his life. He leapt over roots and ducked under branches, taking a few turns, but Li's footsteps never quieted, they just got louder! Suddenly, Ice lost his footing and stumbled, giving Li just enough time to catch his wrist and pin him to a tree. He had never seen the Asian so angry, so frustrates, so… hurt…? "Why do you keep avoiding me?" Li demanded. "You wouldn't let me over to your house, you barely speak to me and now you run away from me!" He panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. "I know your house wasn't being fumigated, Norge told me!" He added.

Ice made a mental note to kill him later.

"So?" He continued "Why do you keep running from me?" He didn't look angry anymore… he looked… hurt…

"Why do you keep following me?" Ice snapped back, his heart beating rapidly.

Li went quiet. After nearly a full minute, he spoke "Because you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen…" He said quietly "You're exotic and sophisticated and a little mysterious…" He looked straight into his violet eyes. "And I keep wondering why my heart hasn't broken for you yet… And it's a little comforting… seeing yours is still whole as well." He looked at the maroon piece, then back at Ice. "But it hurts that you hate me so much without a reason!" His grip on Ice's wrists tightened a moment, but then he let go of them altogether. "I love you Emil." He said. "You're beautiful and I know, one day… I can make you smile…" At that moment, he gently leaned in and touched a light kiss to his cool lips before turning away and walking out of the forest.

Ice slumped down onto the ground and sat there until the sun set, absorbing it all. After a while, he stood and walked home in a daze. Lucas saw him come in, but said nothing. He simply walked up to his room and sat on his bed "No…" He shook his head. "Everything will be the same… Li will ask me how I feel and I'll say…"

"Tink!"

"Oh…" He gingerly picked up his piece of his heart. Once it was securely in his hand he lay back on his bed and waited.

It was hot… so hot, too hot! He was on fire! Exploding in flames! Like… "N-no… NO!" He screamed, shaking and crying.

Lucas tore upstairs and threw the door open, hugging his brother. "It's okay…" He whispered "I'm here…" Ice nodded and held out his hand, palm open, his piece glinting like a garnet.

Norge nodded and took it to set on the bedside table, holding him and rocking him, singing to him gently.

H- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ice clung to his piece as he walked to Li's house. For once, he wasn't wearing his gloves. Upon arriving at his house, he rang the bell and waited. He hadn't slept… he was too scared of the possible nightmares. Li opened the door.

"Before you say anything, I'm sorry." Ice began. "I'm afraid of change. And to go from having just a brother who cared about me to… a new student who cared about me… that was just… I wasn't ready." He sighed.

"…I'm listening…" Li nodded patiently

"My parents died when I was little." He continued "Volcano explosion… normally, in Iceland, we're prepared for that kind of thing, but they were in the wrong place at the wrong time…" He took a shaky breath, trying not to cry. "It was so hot… They…" He sniffled and took another breath. "I was bounced from foster home to foster home… Eventually, Lucas's family found me… they were the first solid thing I had had in a long time…" He went quiet "I didn't want anything to change… Mathayas and Lucas exchanging hearts was okay because it took time… Suddenness is something I can't deal with."

Suddenly, he was embraced by a warm pair of arms. Not hot… warm… almost calming. Li held him close "May I show you something that is hot, but beautiful?" He asked.

Ice nodded and he took him to the backyard. "It's good you came so late" Li said. "Otherwise it would be too bright out." He sat him on a lawn chair. "Watch~"

He ran out a ways, for they had a large backyard, to what looked like a large plank of wood. Ice heard what sounded like the striking of a match, then a faint glow. Li bent over, waited a moment, waved the light out and ran.

Suddenly, with a loud whistle, something shot into the sky, followed by a loud "BANG!" and a shower of silver sparks, followed by blue and purple and red. This continued for a long time. Li put on a wonderful fireworks show for Ice. Some were loud and in the air, some whistled and were on the ground, all were spectacular. After a while, Li trotted over to Ice, smelling like gunpowder. "What did you think?" He asked.

Ice was speechless for a moment, then asked "Did… you make those?"

Li nodded proudly "I did, and I'm very proud of them… but I'm more proud of that!" He pointed to Ice's face.

Ice touched his lips.

He was smiling.

He looked at the Asian who was holding up his heart piece, a perfect match to Ice's. "You know what I think?" He said as he gently pressed it into his chest. "I think you're cold on the outside… but hot on the inside."

Ice blushed for what he was sure was the first time. It wasn't hot anymore… but it was warm~ a perfect temperature. Everything smelled of sulfur and gunpowder and smoke and it was magnificent! He shyly reached into his pocket and pressed his piece to Li's chest. The Asian sighed happily. "Thank you…~" He smiled.

"Shut up and kiss me properly." Ice… Emil demanded, still smiling.

So he did, with pleasure.

**Sorry if anyone seemed OOC here... I'm not very familiar with Hong Kong's character**** Most of this stuff was made up as I went along... Still hope you liked it! ^^ R&R!**

**Notes: *Jonsi/Sigur Ros= Two Icelandic bands/singers. Jonsi is part of the band Sigur Ros but does seperate stuff as well. Look him up and prepare for eargasm.**

***Lopepesa= I have no idea if I spelled this right. It's a kind of Norwegian potato bread. I tried it once and hated it, hence Ice's disdain.**

**I know I changed Norway's name, forgive me .  
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